Cellular telephones are becoming increasingly popular, and public use of cellular telephones has significantly increased over the last several years. The purchase and use of cellular telephones has become common, including for use by groups, such an employer purchasing cellular telephones for use by a group of employees. To support the increased use of cellular telephones, various wireless networks have been created, and expanded, to allow use of cellular telephones in increasing areas of coverage. In general, a wireless service provider, upon purchase of the cellular telephones by the owner, enables the use of the cellular telephones by activating the cellular telephones. The cellular telephones operate by communicating with the wireless network to which the owner/user subscribes through a transmitter/receiver within the cellular telephones.
A typical wireless network consists of multiple, low-power transmitters/receivers, typically referred to as base stations, providing wireless service to a series of overlapping coverage areas referred to as cells. Each cell operates within a predetermined set of frequencies, with one or more frequencies designated as control frequencies used to manage the network. Usually, a Mobile Telephone Switching Office (“MTSO”) is connected to one of the base stations, and the MTSO manages a set of cells, controlling a portion of the typical wireless network by use of the control frequencies.
A large wireless network may consist of several different MTSOs, each MTSO in control of multiple cells, and the MTSOs in communication with each other, either directly or through the Public Switched Telephone Network (“PSTN”). Each MTSO will also communicate with the PSTN in order to connect calls from cellular telephones to and from standard PSTN telephones.
Additionally, in the case of a large wireless network with multiple MTSOs, there will be an overall network control in communication with, and controlling, the multiple MTSOs in the wireless network. In the case of a small wireless network, the overall network control may also act as the MTSO, eliminating the need for a separate MTSO.
A cellular telephone operating within the coverage of a particular cell receives transmissions from, and sends transmissions to, the transmitter/receiver providing coverage for the cell. As a cellular telephone user engaged in a telephone call leaves one cell and enters another cell, a “hand off” of the telephone call is handled by the MTSO, such that the wireless communications from the user's cellular telephone are switched from the transmitter/receiver of the cell the user is leaving to the transmitter/receiver for the cell that the user is entering.
Wireless service providers typically provide wireless service to a cellular telephone owner based upon a charge to the owner for the time spent using the wireless service. The typical wireless service charges the owner a set fee per month for a set amount of time using the cellular telephone within that month. The wireless service provider usually charges substantial fees for use of the cellular telephone in excess of the allotted amount of time within the month. Additionally, certain telephone numbers called by the owner of the cellular telephone may incur additional charges above the set fee, including for example long distance calls, calls to pay services, overseas calls, etc.
Thus, there is a need for addressing these and other concerns.